Saturday, November 15, 2003

...Rugrats...

I was watching this programme earlier and it occurred to me that is's a rather clever satire of american judaism and anti-semitism, of which I wholeheartedly approve.

The central character is the infant Tommy, whose mother Didee is Jewish. Didee is a good parent whose wisdom in such matters is derived from the works of Lipschitz [presumably implying "shit passes his lips" or "bullshittler"], who is a kind of Dr. Strangelove character - a German scientist listened to by everyone (regardless of moral standpoint) whose hideously unethical policies/recommendations transcend both cultural and political barriers through their tantilisingly easy gains. Didee's parents are strange, near unintelligible characters whose presence is accompanied by sinister accordian music and who are implicitly despised by everyone (including Didee) and rarely trusted with the sole care of the children (who interpret their teachings in surreal and disturbing ways which always scare them stupid), representing suspicion of old Europe in America. The hero of the piece is the buffoon Grandpa - a former shopkeeper who is the embodiment of American free-marketeering, who is univerally loved and trusted, and is unique in being able to teach the infants important moral lessons and being able to impart genuine (rather than misinterpreted) wisdom. Angelica, the older (spoiled) little girl is the Mosely figure - the viper in the midst who represents both the evil of unrestrained capitalism (through her blatant materialism) and facism, through her tendancy to play upon the instinctive fears of the babies in support of her own evil objectives.

The overall (and intentionally facetious) point of the piece seems to be that is is OK to sleep with the enemy if it serves your objectives, that the stereotype of Judaism is more acceptable than the heritage and that capitalism is fantastic so long as nobody remotely intelligent ever becomes involved in it, in which case it becomes facism.

Or mabye I'm just stoned. Either way, I vote for it as a "thesis you should write" on HUH.

[update]: I note that ITV have started screening a teenage version of Rugrats made by the same production team and featuring the same characters. Wonder what they'll make of Tommy's bris ceremony.